Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Young Tanzanian techie seizes opportunity with language app

By THE CITIZEN | Thursday, October 24
2013 at
09:52

Young Tanzanian innovator Harvey Kadyanji (right) and his friend Timothy
McDermott (left), both students at Swaziland-based Waterford Kamhlaba
United World College of Southern Africa, have emerged among the winners
in a worldwide contest for young innovators - the 2013 International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) World Young Innovators Competition. PHOTO
| COURTESY

While living in Swaziland as a foreign student, Harvey
Kadyanji experienced communication challenges in the outreach programmes
that he was participating in. Such challenges were worsened by his lack
of understanding of Swazi cultural values.

Swaziland has a lot of foreign volunteers and
migrant workers who come to assist the nation in combating the HIV/Aids
scourge. But cultural bottlenecks frustrate most volunteers, like
Harvey.

It is for this reason that the young Tanzanian
teamed up with Timothy McDermott, his colleague with Australian and
Swaziland origin, to create SiSwApp, an application to bridge the
language gap.

This is the tool that has earned the two young innovators a $5,000 grant and a chance to travel to Thailand.

The two were recently announced winners of the
2013 International Telecommunications Union (ITU) World Young Innovators
Competition.

They entered the contest early this year, after seeing it advertised in a Swazi newspaper.

“The judges were looking for talented young social
entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 26 who could provide ICT-based
solutions to developmental challenges,” says the 20 year old Tanzanian.

Over 600 applicants from 88 countries applied for the competition, including Harvey and Timothy.

In July 2013, Harvey says they were told that they
had made it into the list of the top 15 semi-finalists. They then had
to submit a 5,000-word business proposal and emerged among the top 10
winners.

“This was good news to us. It gave us the urge to work even harder to come up with the application,” he says.

Harvey describes the SiSwApp as a smartphone app, which is aimed primarily at iOS and Android mobile platforms.

According to him, it promises to help users by
offering contemporary features such as translation (English to SiSwati
and vice versa) with an integrated audio database.

First software at 15

Other features include a comprehensive learning
tool with topics and themes specific to Swazi culture; links to tourist
hot spots in Swaziland and an advertisement platform for local
entrepreneurs.

Interestingly, the young Tanzanian innovator has
never received any kind of formal education with regards to programming
or computer science.

But it is his curiosity and passion that drove him to the world of computers.

“By reading articles and following online
tutorials I was able to create my first software at the age of 15, and
my first App at 19,” he says.

Harvey finished his O-level studies in 2010. In
2011 he was one of the four candidates nominated by the Tanzania United
World College (UWC) for a full study scholarship at any one of the UWC
schools in the world.

Last year, he left the country for Swaziland where
he enrolled for an international baccalaureate diploma at the Waterford
Kamhlaba UWC of Southern Africa.

The college, which started in the sixties was the
brainchild of an enterprising Englishman named Michael Stern. Revolted
by neighbouring South Africa’s apartheid regime, Stern decided to set up
a school to which all races would be admitted as equals.

“I look forward to graduating from the college this year,” says Harvey.

The course he is studying is similar to the
Tanzanian A-level qualification, except that Harvey gets to do seven
subjects, including sports, creative arts and community service.

He describes Timothy as his dorm mate. The two share interests in soccer, squash, physics and outreach programmes.

No silver spoon

The last born in a family of four, Harvey was not brought up with a silver spoon in his mouth.

“I had a modest upbringing,” he says. “But my
parents were very supportive of my educational dreams. So, they only
provided me with all the basic items they thought could help me in
school.”

His parents also ensured that young Harvey gets
exposed to computers. That helped him understand and appreciate the
power of computers in changing communities.

Growing up, Harvey has drawn his inspiration from
Sir Jonathan Ive, the designer of the iPhone, iPad, iPod and was the
lead designer of iOS 7.

“What intrigues me about him is the way he pays
attention to details and how he tries to provide a very simplistic way
of doing things. He is among the first people to reveal the secret of
designing consumer goods,” he says.

While still in Swaziland, Harvey is also involved
in a number of student-led projects, such as 30 Seconds of Change, an
initiative, which aims to improving the lives of disadvantaged youths,
like those living in refugee camps.

But far away from home, Harvey still has big plans
for his country. One of the things he is currently doing is exploring
the importance of Kiswahili and culture.

“I have joined hands with several partners to work
on an application that not only will present content on any given
topic, but one that also supports local enterprises whose existence
revolves around the Swahili language and culture,” he says.

But back home, the young man feels a lot more
still needs to be done to support creativity in a world that has
increasingly become technology-driven.

“I am of the opinion that the government needs to
expose people to computers at a very tender age when their imagination
is still running wild,” he says.

Live your dreams

Harvey’s advice to young Tanzanians is simple:
“Live your dreams and be patient. All I did was give myself one reason
why this would work, and in the process ignoring a million reasons why
my dreams won’t work.”

Harvey’s first successful app was the Waterford
Kamhlaba UWC app for Android and iPhone, which is found in the Google
Play and iTunes Store, respectively. The project aimed at helping fellow
students and visitors to explore the school.

“It helped me meet the head of corporate banking at Barclays Africa in South Africa,” he says.

Harvey was the founder of Young Coders Tanzania www.youngcoders.co.nf. Last year he conducted a web designing workshop for small children at his former primary school.

Next month, Harvey and Timothy will travel to
Bangkok, Thailand, where they will showcase their idea and engage with
mentors, leaders in the technology field and other young innovators.

They will also collect their prize money, which will be used to develop their project.

Harvey and Tim hope to progress from concept to a start-up soon and launch the application in February 2014.